Japan

Abstract

Hunter-gatherers from the Asian mainland crossed via land bridges to Japan, leaving evidence of Palaeolithic habitation. Rice was introduced by about 400 BC and the use of metals around a century later. Japanese polities are attested first by Chinese sources in AD 57; Japanese armies were active in Korea in the 4th century AD, suggesting a degree of political unity by this period. Chinese script and Confucian works arrived in Japan in the 4th century AD and Buddhism in the 6th century. Indigenous beliefs consolidated into Shintoism, which evolved into a national religion.

Both forms are valid, and derive from different pronunciations of a Chinese character.